2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/07/2023 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Family Language Planning with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: Fostering Multilingual Development | DECC 200
Family Language Planning with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: Fostering Multilingual Development
Families who live in the United States or migrated from other countries and do not speak English often feel pressured to stop using their home language with their children and focus on learning English (Fillmore, 2000). This is true for hearing families and for families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Parents report that their decisions about language opportunities for their deaf or hard of hearing child reflect many factors.
Family language policy (FLP) is relatively new field of research that integrates language acquisition and language policy (King, Fogle, & Logan-Terry, 2008). The family language policy and planning framework explore families’ language use patterns and literacy practices in the home environment. The FLP framework examines 1) family language ideologies, 2) family language practices, and 3) language management within the family. One of many ways to support families with deaf/hoh children to navigate multiple languages is to create a living FLP. A FLP allows families to plan when to use which language throughout a child’s day. The goal is to maintain balanced input from each language and to ensure mastery in both. The FLP is drafted collaboratively with a professional who works with deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families. This specialist may be an early childhood education teacher, an early intervention specialist, an ASL specialist, a speech-language pathologist, a Deaf Mentor, or a professional who works closely with families. Planning can help families become conscious about when and how to use which languages, ensuring the child has a balanced input of languages. This allows deaf and hard-of-hearing children to maintain connections with their parents and their community, their family’s heritage, and their peers while fostering the development of English literacy skills. We will share the steps to developing a FLP and information about our new research project.
- Participants will learn about existing research on family language policy and planning.
- Participants will actively engage in a discussion about the implications of family language planning on young deaf and hard of hearing children’s language outcomes.
- Participants will learn the steps of creating a successful family language plan with their deaf and hard-of-hearing children in a multidisciplinary approach.
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Presenters/Authors
Julie Mitchiner
(), Gallaudet University, julie.mitchiner@gallaudet.edu;
Julie Mitchiner, a professor in the Education Department at Gallaudet University, focuses primarily on Early Childhood Education. She directs the Master's program in Deaf Education. Mitchiner taught at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center in the bilingual ASL/English Early Childhood Program for six years. She received her BA in Early Childhood Education and MA in Deaf Education with a specialization in Family Centered Early Education at Gallaudet University. She received her Ph.D. in Education at George Mason University with a specialization in Early Childhood Education and a secondary concentration in multicultural/multilingual education. Her research interests include bilingual education in ASL and English and using the Reggio Emilia approach in teaching deaf and hard of hearing children. Mitchiner has presented at many national and international conferences and made several publications related to deaf families with children who have cochlear implants and on family language planning and policy with deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Christi Batamula
(), Gallaudet University, christi.batamula@gallaudet.edu;
Christi Batamula has been working at Gallaudet University since 2005, first as an early childhood educator at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School and then as an assistant professor in the Department of Education. She has earned a Bachelor's degree from Geneva College and a Master's degree in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University. And a Ph.D. from George Mason University with a specialization in International Education and a secondary, interdisciplinary focus on Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education. Her dissertation focused on family engagement among immigrant families with young deaf children. Her area of research interest is working with culturally and linguistically diverse Deaf young children and their families. She has presented her research and knowledge at various national and international conferences. She also has published based on her research and work teaching deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Bobbie Jo Kite
(), Gallaudet University- Dept of Education, bobbie.kite@gallaudet.edu;
Originally from Pennsylvania, Bobbie Jo received her B.A. in Early Childhood Education in 2004 and her M.A. in Deaf Education in 2005 from Gallaudet University. She has taught Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School for 5 years and Kindergarten-First grade at New Mexico School for the Deaf for a year. She received her Ph.D. from George Mason University, specializing in Early Childhood Education and Multilingual/Multicultural Education, in 2017. Her dissertation examined Family Language Planning in American Sign Language and English Families. Currently, Bobbie Jo directs the Bachelor’s program in Undergraduate Education at Gallaudet University. In addition, Bobbie Jo provides consulting services to ASL & English bimodal bilingual programs nationwide.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Victorica Monroe
(), Gallaudet University, Victorica.Monroe@gallaudet.edu;
Victorica Monroe is a second-year doctoral student at Gallaudet University in Critical Studies for the Deaf Learners. They are also a Presidential Pipeline Scholar recipient. They earned the Associate of Arts from Hinds Community College, Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education and Recreation, and Masters of Education from Gallaudet University. Before enrolling in the doctoral program, they taught at the Mississippi School for the Deaf for several years and are currently heavily involved in the Deaf Education field for over 15 years. Victorica’s work is heavily focused on the importance of addressing and recognizing systems of power in Deaf education has consulted, trained, and presented in schools and universities and published several works ranging from a children’s book of Swishing to scholarly articles focusing on the systems of power topics.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -